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A Guide To Albums You Need To Survive The Summer

July 8th, 2014

With summertime comes this immediate need for summer jams. Every year there are always countless arbitrary battles to decide what one song reigns supreme. See here for all of them. And in this day and age of music consumption, it seems to be all about that three to four-minute dose of summeriness. Compile all of them and you have a nice, tidy playlist, which according to the big cheese at BBC’s Radio 1, is replacing the album. But lo and behold the album is still very much intact good people. Some artists are still vying to hold your attention for 30 to 60 minutes, and while it’s becoming increasingly harder to achieve such a thing, I think you should hear them out.

Here is a list of five albums coming out this summer that were tailor made for the season. Be it at a cottage, at the beach or at work, I guarantee the following albums will no doubt enhance your life in some form or other.*

Jungle Jungle (XL) [Out July 15]Tagline: “It’s P-Funk and Grand Theft Auto, it’s Curtis Mayfield and Tron, it’s the Beach Boys and Joy Division and Marvin Gaye and Can, all cut up and refracted in a London neighbourhood where anything can happen.”What it really is: Shrouded in mystery, the duo make all-encompassing music rooted in soul, post-punk, disco, and funk, all framed in a pop format.The buzz: The music videos. Roller-skating trickmakers, a six-year-old b-girl and the greatest looking dance crew ever assembled – they’re all born to be viral sensations.RIYL: Metronomy, TV On The Radio, Majid Jordan“Summeriness”: 8/10. Ideal for bike rides or spinning class.

Alvvays Alvvays (Royal Mountain/Polyvinyl) [Out July 22]Tagline: “Alvvays are two women, three men, a crate of C-86 tapes and a love of jingle-jangle.”What it really is: Super chill, girl-voiced indie pop that’s equal parts beatific and sad. The buzz: The indie bloggers love them. And Tumblr seems to be quite fond of them.RIYL: Best Coast, Camera Obscura, La Sera“Summeriness”: 10/10. The sound of Instagram videos at the beach. If they were three minutes instead of 15 seconds.

5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer (Capitol) [Out July 22]Tagline: “The greatest band that plays their own instruments in the history of whatever!”What it really is: Super slick, rated G pop-punk played (with real instruments) by One Direction-ish cutie pies.The buzz: Umm, they’re massive. And did I mention they play their own instruments?RIYL: One Direction, McFly, The Jonas Brothers“Summeriness”: 7/10. It has more to do with the word summer being in their name, but really, sugary pop music is best enjoyed in the sunshine.

Beach Day Native Echoes (Kanine) [Out August 19]Tagline: “On this new LP, they’ve become greater than the sum of their throwback influences. Native Echoes emerges packing more modern grit.”What it really is: Delicious, Spector-esque girl group pop designed specifically for its titular purpose.The buzz: Though it’s the band’s second album, they’re still trying to make an impact following a horde of these band saturating the market in the late aughties.RIYL: Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose, The Raveonettes“Summeriness”: 8/10. Check the name. That says it all.

JJ V (Sincerely Yours/Secretly Canadian) [Out August 19]Tagline: “At last we meet again and I’m like baby, what you doing here? You stay on my mind. We been up all winters for someone like you and we know that you been up all winters for someone like us. We don’t even know your name or where you came from and someday this war will be over so we and our friends will stay together until the end. Making our way through this mother**king life. Come on, we have to do it.”What it really is: Sublime, mysterious and impeccably composed Balearic pop that never wants to give you any answers.The buzz: Mostly the talk has been about the duo capitalizing their name after a strict lower case rule, but the usual indie media types are always curious to see what these Swedes have up their sleeves.RIYL: The Knife, The Tough Alliance, Air France“Summeriness”: 8/10. Music doesn’t have to be happy or coherent to qualify, and JJ definitely have a summery vibe to them, despite the fact that its often confusing and unsettling.

*By “guarantee” I actually mean “think.” I think they will enhance your life. If they don’t, well, go find a Buzzfeed playlist and listen to that.